Page 15 of Not a Pawn

My dragon shakes out his wings, preening for a mate that can’t see him as she moves through the air with my twin before he launches himself into the air.

For hours we chase her, catch and release her. The three of us spend the day in the sky just allowing our dragons the freedom to be what they are. Free.

But once the sun starts to descend, Harlow heads back to the compound with us following behind her. The moment her dragon lands on the ground she shifts back, laughing loudly. The sound fills my heart and every dark corner of my soul, as pure love takes over everything I am.

Sebastian wraps his arms around her naked form, swinging her in a circle before kissing her deeply. When he releases her after long moments of plundering her mouth, I turn her toward me and repeat the process.

“You are stunning,” I praise holding her face cupped in my hands.

“Thank you,” she says softly. “I’m a little confused, though.”

I release her with a wink as Sebastian drapes a black satin robe over her shoulders. We both know that if she is naked, we sure as shit will not be talking. And Harow really needs to work through everything that has happened in the past twenty-four hours.

“Sit,” I say pulling her over to the patio furniture. “I’ll get you something to drink and we can talk about everything.”

She nods, taking a seat with a dazed look in her eyes. I hear Sebastian speak as I walk into the house to get her a juice or something to drink. I remember my first shift and I know she will be feeling dehydrated. Our dragons take as much from us as they give.

“I heard a story,” Harlow says to my twin as I step back outside. “You know the kind of thing people talk about in whispers that you never could take as face value.”

“Yeah,” he agrees with a nod. “I know what you mean. We also heard about the female shifter dragon in the Capitol, but it simply seemed too far-fetched to be true. Until today.”

“I think it’s the mate bond,” I say handing her the bottle of mango-apple juice. “There hasn’t been a fated mate or a female dragon in hundreds of years, and now Alphas are finding their mates and females are discovering their dragons. I don’t know why all of this started again but I think the two relinked.”

“Mate bond?” Harlow asks, shock scrolled across her features.

****

I’m Theirs

Harlow

Julian smiles. “It’s why we marked you,” he says casually. “The moment we walked into the Pezzo compound we knew you were our mate.”

I stare at him in shock. “And you didn’t say or do a damn thing about it for ten days?”

“Neither of us wanted to force you into anything,” he explains. “We wanted the choice to be yours even though it went against our very nature. The way you gravitated toward us gave a little bit of comfort. We knew you would be ours, it was just a matter of time.”

“And the deal with my father?”

I feel betrayal course through my veins. They used him to get what they wanted from me. I rub at my chest where the pain blossoms.

“We knew he was all you had,” Sebastian explains. “He’s important to you so he is important to us. Even if you decided to walk away, we still would have helped him.”

“What…”

Bas cuts me off with a swift kiss as he leans down into my space. “You’re ours. Whether you choose to stay here with us or not. Even before we knew we would be able to complete the mate bond, we knew we would do anything for you and that includes making sure your father gets the help he needs.”

“I can leave?”

“I’ve said this before. You’re not a prisoner, Harlow,” Julian says with a frown. “And we aren’t the bad guys in your story. We want you, no, weneedyou to be whole, but we won’t force you to be here. If you want to leave, it’s your choice.”

His shoulders slump as he walks away, disappearing back into the house. I stare at Sebastian who says nothing but offers me a small smile.

“It’s hard for him to let you decide whether you want him—us—as yours. Please understand we have been looking for our fated mate our entire lives even when everyone said we were crazy. You’re the only thing we have always wanted.”

“Sebastian…”

But he cuts me off again. “I’m not trying to pressure you, just explain. Take your time and make the decision that will make you happy. That’s all we want.”

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